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The Dose of news you can use. This week: Simpler life with homesteading, mental health resources and tequila

Hello from The Dose, a place to share the news we're all talking about — and actually experiencing. Each week, you’ll find: a stat worth digging into, a dose of news from our Tennessee community, something you *should* pay attention to on social media and a burst of happiness.

This week's dose of news

Have you heard of homesteading? More Nashvillians are returning to a simpler life

Demand for Nashville chicken permits has more than doubled in recent years. The number of Tennessee residents keeping bees has quadrupled in the past decade. And more people are renting garden plots to grow their own fresh fruits and veggies.

Stoney Creek Farm owners Leigh and Olin Funderburk started growing vegetables on their farm in 2009 and have since transformed it into a business teaching others how to live sustainably.(Photo: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean )

Ole Red is a five-story upscale honky tonk on the corner of Broadway and 3rd Avenue in downtown Nashville.(Photo: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)

Walk down Broadway, and you may see one of its bars aglow in red light. That's Ole Red, country music artist Blake Shelton's joint, in partnership with Ryman Hospitality.

Located along a strip of neon, one wouldn't think a simple red light would raise alarm, but the Historic Zoning Commission passed a policy in August 2017 banning colored exterior lights in districts with historic overlays. The Ole Red building is one.

Waffle House shooter indicted on 17 counts

The Davidson County grand jury found that the evidence against Travis Reinking — the suspect in the Nashville Waffle House shooting — was strong enough to support four counts of premeditated first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first degree murder and a slate of other charges.

Travis Reinking laughs during his mental health hearing in criminal court Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Reinking is suspected of killing four people in a mass shooting in April at a Nashville Waffle House.(Photo: Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean)

“I know my mom well, and she would be very upset knowing that this lady may spend some of her life in prison,” Gary Murphey told The Tennessean. “She probably had a family, and it’s destroyed their life, too.”

Numbers worth knowing

Hotel fever: How many is too many?

Of course you've seen them: Vacationers, bachelorette parties, country music fans. They all flock to Nashville, lured by the city's live music and nightlife scenes. And they can mean big bucks for developers — particularly in the hotel industry. There has been a boom of building here in the last few years, but is the city oversaturated now? Investors remain bullish.

The main lobby at the JW Marriott Tuesday, July 17, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean)

Let's look at the numbers:

15.2 million: Tourists who visited Nashville last year, according to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. That's up from 14.5 million vacationers in 2017.

20: New hotels that opened in Nashville in 2018. That was up from 19 in 2017 and another 20 from 2015 to 2016.

$147.19 a night: Average room price in 2018 — up from $142.64 last year. Rooms downtown start closer to $300 a night on weekends.

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February 04 2019 - Steven Tyler speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - From left, Sylvia, JaBrayia, Jenna, and Steven Tyler pose for photos during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Patrick Lawler, CEO Youth Villages, speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Steven Tyler arrives for a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Richard Shaw, chief development officer at Youth Villages, speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Nicole Fannin, director of residential services at Youth Villages, speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Steven Tyler arrives for a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Steven Tyler speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Steven Tyler speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Patrick Lawler, CEO Youth Villages, speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration outside of Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Richard Shaw, chief development officer at Youth Villages, speaks during a scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

Singer Steven Tyler attends the scarf-cutting celebration Feb. 4, 2019, for Janie's House, a project between Tyler and Youth Villages to renovate a home for girls who have suffered abuse or neglect. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

February 04 2019 - Scenes from the scarf-cutting celebration at Janie's House at Youth Villages in Bartlett. Janie's Fund paid for the renovations of the existing home for girls and Youth Villages renamed it a Janie's House. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

Oh, the things you should do!

Go to see a ground-breaking ballet: "Lucy Negro Redux" goes starkly against ballet's historical trends as a piece created exclusively for an African-American female lead. It features an original score to be performed live by Rhiannon Giddens — founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops — and spoken-word poetry by Nashville author Caroline Randall Williams, whose book was inspiration for the ballet. It shows at TPAC Feb. 8-10.

Kayla Rowser performs with Nicolas Scheuer as the ballet Lucy Negro Redux explores the mysterious love life of literary great William Shakespeare through the perspective of the illustrious “Dark Lady” for whom many of his famed sonnets were written.
Wednesday Jan. 23, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: Larry McCormack / Tennessean)